The Western Cape Winelands are rightly famous around the world for their lush vineyards and excellent and most scenic wine routes, which are popular among visitors from near and far. In addition to the vineyards, however, there is another marvellous place that is worth visiting in this area: Butterfly World Tropical Garden, just off the…
Haa-a-a-a-a-tchoooo!!!! Every year during springtime, there is a conflict between the local residents of Pinelands who want to keep the beautiful wild spring flowers on the grass verges flowering in our neighbourhood for as long as possible, and who thus get mightily upset with the city council when their squadrons of mowers come roaring down…
Yesterday morning, on a walk through the neighbourhood, I spotted a pair of Egyptian geese on a grassy verge up ahead, near the traffic circle of Woodside Drive and Francis Road. The grass was very tall and overgrown, so I could just recognise the two large birds with their striking colouring. As I approached slowly,…
I am thrilled to report that a pair of Cape Bulbuls seems to be looking for accommodation in our neighbourhood. I am very curious to see where they are going to build their nest. Look! A few seconds earlier, they’d been sitting companiably side by side, their feathers fluffed up slightly by the wind. I…
A week ago, I wrote about the pair of Hadeda ibises nesting in the big tree in our neighbour’s garden. Well, it seems that they have been successful in procreating: they have two little ones! We’ve seen them being fed, and managed to get a photo of Mumsy (or Daddy? hard to tell) snuggling them…
Over the last months, I’ve managed to photograph a range of birds in our garden. I’d like to introduce you to our beloved feathered friends, some of whom you’ve probably seen before. Cape Sparrows These two adorable Cape Sparrows (Mr and Mrs Sparrow) are currently nesting (methinks) underneath the dilapidated shade-roof near our garden sheds,…
A couple of days ago, when it was unseasonably warm and the birds kept emptying out the various bird baths with their vigorous splashing, I sliced up some oranges and left them dotted about the garden. And I was really lucky to see this little fella, a Cape White-Eye, having a hearty lunch. I think…
I got called outside by a terrible racket in the back garden. It sounded like a full-on row between two pairs of hadedas. Now, ONE of them squawking and screeching is bad enough, but all FOUR of them? An ear-splitting din! When I came rushing out, I barely caught a glimpse of them on the…
After Flandrum Hill posted a cute little story of Canadian chickadees, I remembered that I had recently taken some photos of a little Cape White-eye taking a bath in the little birdbath in our front garden. As you can see, they are small green-yellow birds with a startling white circle around their eyes. They are…
Grains of Sand 